According to a recent study published by e-marketer, the 2016 online holiday shopping season is set for another epic, record-breaking year in sales.

The predicted 13.3% overall rise in e-commerce sales is attributable to faster connectivity, safer transactions and the increasing number of quality e-commerce websites ready to serve shoppers.

Businesses invest a lot of time, money and effort in converting customers to clients, but make many simple mistakes regarding poor usability, which drive users away. Today we will cover the 4 most common ones we see most often.

Just How Important is Usability?

Consider the following statistics by Go Gulf, which do a good job of highlighting just how important usability is:

80% of website visitors think a company’s website should be as good or better than their desktop website.

47% of people expect a web page to load in two seconds or less.

39% of people will stop engaging with a website if images won’t load or take too long to load.

44% of visitors will leave a company’s website if there’s no contact information or phone number.

38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content/layout is unattractive.

Now, let’s examine four of the common website errors which detract from a positive user experience and could be scaring away your visitors and how to fix them, along with a video with examples of each:

Problem #1: Visibly Outdated Content

What effect does it have on user experience?

What you’re offering should be beneficial to your users. If your content is not up to date with the most relevant products, services or information, then your proposition provides no value. A website with quality, up-to-date content can even get away with a cluttered looking design.

How to fix it?

Either delete or optimize it. Whether technology has changed, new information has been presented, or there’s a better way to accomplish the same task make your content relevant again.

Problem #2: Poor Design

What effect does it have on user experience?

According to one study, a new visitor will make up their mind about your website very quickly – in a mere 50 milliseconds. If your website feels uninviting to a visitor, he or she will likely bounce.

Problem #3: Poor Navigation

You know those chaotic discount stores where the merchandise seems to be thrown on the shelves? If your website resembles them, this makes it very hard for users to find what you’re looking for.

Remember, you won’t be there to explain your website. You won’t be there to walk someone through the styling, the products, or the services. It’s imperative that your website does it for you.

How to fix it?

Navigation should be designed based on the needs of your visitors and not on the internal needs of your business. Put yourself in the position of a clueless visitor.

Problem #4: No Credibility

What effect does it have on user experience?

If you run an online business, you arguably have to work harder to establish credibility. There are a lot of online scams out there, so the average internet user will be extra cautious before buying from a website they’ve never heard of.

How to fix it?

Try to give your visitors a picture of the human being(s) behind your website. Making sure your contact information is visible at all times, maintaining a blog and providing clear return policies for your products are all ways to make your visitors trust you.

CONCLUSION

You invest a lot of time, money, and resources in building traffic to your website so don’t allow your website to scare away potential clients before you get the opportunity to drive them into your website conversion funnel.

By fixing these four common errors which scare away your visitors, you can improve your conversion rates, thereby increasing the revenue contribution your website makes to the bottom line.

Author: White Shark Media

White Shark Media is a leading Digital Marketing Agency that provides PPC Management to small and medium-sized businesses.